Hyderabad: The National Green Tribunal (NGT), penalised Telangana with a fine of Rs 920.85 crore for violating environmental rules while constructing the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) and the Dindi Lift Irrigation Project.
The NGT on Thursday directed Telangana to receive a permit from the Apex Council, before proceeding with the construction of its irrigation projects.
“A state being a model citizen has disobeyed the procedure and attempted to circumvent the mandatory provisions in spite of a specific finding by the NGT in appeal No. 20 of 2018”, the NGT said.
NGT further directed the state government to deposit a penalty amount with Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to utilize the same for remedial activities by clubbing two petitions filed by Andhra Pradesh farmers separately on the projects.
The bench holding Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana delivered his judgment stating that “the allegations in both the original applications are identical in nature”.
The NGT further mandated the Telangana government to obtain Environmental Clearance (EC), namely, screening, scoping, public consultation, and appraisal before proceeding with PRILS.
Compensations imposed
Adding on to the compensation NGT asked the state to pay Rs 528 crores, which accounts for 1.5 percent of the total project cost.
Similarly, Telangana was also directed to pay an environmental compensation of Rs 92.85 crore in terms of Dindi LIS, which was constructed at Rs 6,190 crore.
A deadline of three months to deposit the amount with KRMB was set by NGT.
A penalty of Rs 300 crore was imposed for the willful violations of the orders, which also has to be paid to KRMB within three months.
A report must be filed with the NGT on compliance with these orders by an oversight committee within a year.
Wilful violations
The NGT’s orders were passed with reference to a case that was filed by nine individuals in which the government of India, the National Board for Wildlife, the KRMB, and the governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were made parties.
A photo was filed by AP which depicted construction activities going on in the PRLIS at all six reservoirs sites.
The photographs reveal that there is a deliberate and wilful violation of the interim order issued on October 29, 2021,” the NGT noted.
However, the affidavit filed by Telangana clearly admitted that even after the order was passed on October 29, 2021, the works in packages 1 to 18 were stopped only in the month of November on various dates which were in utter disregard to the orders passed by the tribunal, the NGT said.
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